RECENT SEX CRIMES AND THIEVERY COMMITTED BY ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY IN SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA

Further Proof the Cycle of Sin in Catholicism

will Never Cease

Those who remain in the great whore do so despite

the preponderance of damning evidence

            This present writer did not need to do extensive research at libraries to uncover the facts about to be presented. They were found in the local daily paper, The Press Democrat, of Santa Rosa, California. They could be read by all, Catholic and non-Catholic during 1999 and 2000. The evidence points to the perpetual sex crimes, thievery, cover-up and willful negligence of the Catholic Church even today. Nothing has changed. Nor will it ever change. God says so. This is why the judgment of the Church of Rome could be written beforehand, 2000 years ago. The continuity of serious crimes by the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy and priesthood represent a sign of unrepentance, a sign of the spirit of Antichrist, and a sign of God's coming judgment. Below we list a few headlines and accompanying quotes:

D.A., chief blame bishop [1]

Ziemann role in money crisis, priest sex scandal denounced

            "Calling the loss of $16 million in church funds gross mismanagement and reprehensible, Sonoma county's top law enforcement officials called Wed. on the Diocese of Santa Rosa to disclose any evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann or other diocese officials……..So far, however, the diocesan officials have told investigators they'd rather handle the financial crisis as an internal problem and that they do not believe the money mismanagement was criminal……..[A]n unusual joint news conference of the top county prosecutor and the top city police officer in which they announced Ziemann will not face criminal charges for alleged sexual coercion……[D.A.] Mullins said a six-month investigation by police and district attorney's investigators produced evidence showing probable cause that Ziemann coerced [RC priest] Hume into a sexual relationship……..[Police chief] Dunbaugh said that in both the sex and financial investigations diocesan officials were not always forthcoming with information and assistance."

Diocese loss may hit $30 million [2]

            "In a stunning revelation Monday night, Monsignor John Brenkle said the Diocese of Santa Rosa's total financial losses could reach $30 million, nearly twice original estimates…..Specifically, Brenkle described the 'recent discovery' of a European-based foundation that was using the diocese name and its nonprofit tax status apparently as cover for a high-yield investment scheme………Ziemann and former Vicar General Thomas Keys stepped down….'I know it's all hard to believe. You could take this script to Hollywood,' Brenkle said…..His comments and those of others underscored a growing feeling among North Coast Catholics who remain distrustful of church leaders after learning that millions of dollars raised by local parishes and schools for special projects have vanished….When [Bishop] Ziemann quit last July, he admitted to a two-year sexual relationship with the Rev. Jorge Hume Salas, a former Ukiah priest who in 1996 confessed to stealing money from St. Mary's [in Ukiah]. In a civil lawsuit filed a week before Ziemann resigned, Hume claimed the bishop coerced him into having sex in return for silence about the Ukiah incident. Ziemann has contended the sex was consensual."

Catholic face-off in Ukiah

Crowd backs calls to jail Ziemann [3]

Hundreds hear archbishop's talk

            "To the consternation of San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, a sometimes contentious crowd that nearly filled 550-seat St. Mary of the Angel's Church on Tuesday night loudly applauded calls for the jailing of Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann and his former top financial aide……..'It is very inappropriate to call for the bishop to go to jail. I don't applaud that,' Levada said…..Levada said he didn't consider it appropriate for parishioners to equate mismanagement and malfeasance with stealing and thievery. 'You should not make rash judgments,' he said……..For Levada the challenges to church practices began when he was confronted before the forum by Sister Jane Kelly, a Ukiah nun whose disclosure of Ziemann's cover-up of a priest theft led to the scandal that forced his resignation. Kelly wagged her finger at Levada as she demanded to know what he had done about new reports she turned over to him of alleged misconduct among three current parish priests within the diocese………Some parishioners suggested that not even the best financial system will make up for what they see as a greater moral and spiritual crisis stemming from years of priestly sexual misconduct."

Quotable Quote

            " 'I'm too much of a pragmatist for healing. I need to know how you could have allowed priests who were pedophiles to consecrate the body and blood of Christ despite what they may have done the night before,' said Russ Libert of St. Mary's."

Diocese officials get an earful [4]

Police say inquiry ended when diocese failed to cooperate

            "Santa Rosa Police Chief Michael Dunbaugh took issue Friday with leaders of the diocese of Santa Rosa, saying investigators have not ruled out the possibility of financial wrongdoing and that the diocese's failure to cooperate was the reason a criminal investigation did not move forward…..'Until such time that an authorized representative of the Diocese of Santa Rosa comes forth and presents evidence of the diocese victim of a crime, clearly indicates the diocese's willingness to fully cooperate as a victim of a crime, and agrees to support the prosecution of any identified offenders, the Santa Rosa Police Department cannot conduct an investigation into this matter,' [D.A.] Mullins said in a formal statement."

A week of revelations and contrition

            "…..After listening to nearly an hour of reports, central Sonoma County Catholics took their turns at the microphone to demand answers to questions church officials have been asked all week.

·        How could Ziemann have been allowed to operate without fiscal controls for nearly eight years?

·        Where were the other diocese leaders?

·        Why didn't they stop him?

·        When will the schools and parishes be repaid money misappropriated from the diocese's bank account?

·        Do church leaders really think that parishioners are going to respond to appeals to raise $15 million to pay back the money the diocese leaders mismanaged?

·        And, finally, when will Ziemann and other leaders, particularly former finance officer Monsignor Thomas Keys, be held accountable for their mismanagement?"

Quotable Quotes

            "Do you think these gentleman should come back and face the music? The people should have to come back and answer for their deeds just like every one of us would have to."

            "They are not here anymore," answered Brenkle.

            Yvette Fallandy yelled, "Keys is not giving us accountability. Where is Keys? He's a pastor. Why isn't he a pastor here tonight? Where's Tom Keys?"

            "It's to get them back to say I'm sorry."

            "…………And another speaker said Ziemann comes from a wealthy Los Angeles family and should be asked to make repayment…Others wanted to send the diocese's bill to the Vatican where Ziemann received his appointment to the Santa Rosa diocese in 1992."

            "Has anybody called Rome and asked them?" said St. Eugene parishioner Mike Keefer. "They are responsible for Bishop Ziemann. They are the employer. Why not let them right things?

            "I don't trust anybody above monsignor anymore," said Mark Hulsman, a onetime altar boy for Brenkle. "Our corruption rate for bishops in Santa Rosa is 50 percent"…….In addition to Ziemann, Hulsman was referring to the diocese's first bishop, Leo T. Maher, who left the North Coast bankrupt in 1969."

Once-visible Keys is now out of sight

            "…as chief financial officer, a post he held more than 14 years, Monsignor Thomas Keys exercised almost unbridled power in making things happen in the six-county North Coast church…..But today, the 56-year-old Irishman, who will mark his 30-year anniversary as a priest in June, is largely out of sight……..During a meeting Thursday in Petaluma, parishioners complained that Keys and other top lay and religious leaders under Ziemann remain on the diocesan payroll. One man was particularly irate that shortly after Ziemann resigned in disgrace, Archbishop William Levada lauded the efforts of Keys in an article in the diocesan newspaper. A month later, Levada removed Keys as finance officer and reported the diocese was in financial crisis……Few events or programs that involved money occurred without Keys knowing about it and approving it……he continues to be pastor of Star of the Valley parish in Oakmont…Parishioners report he seldom delivers mass."

Vegas bishop to lead SR Diocese [5]

            "Pope John Paul II on Tuesday appointed Las Vegas Bishop Daniel F. Walsh, leader of the fastest growing Catholic community, to take over the Diocese of Santa Rosa and to lead it out of a turbulent period marked by sex scandals and financial crisis……..Walsh, 62, will be the fifth bishop to oversee the six-county diocese, which in its 38-year existence has twice fallen into near-financial ruin and which has been rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct involving as many as eight priests, including Ziemann……..'The church is hierarchical,' he said. 'It is not a democracy.' "

Hume to get $535,000 in settlement with SR Diocese [6]

            "The Diocese of Santa Rosa announced Monday it will pay a former Ukiah priest $535,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging he was coerced by former Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann into a two-year sexual relationship…..They said an insurance carrier will pay the settlement and that the money will not come from the depleted coffers of a diocese left $16 million in debt by fiscal mismanagement and payment of $6 million worth of claims related to sexual misconduct by priests…..Ziemann had contended the sexual relationship was consensual, but Hume in his lawsuit against Ziemann and the church contended he agreed to engage in sex over a two-year period only after the bishop threatened to expose Hume's own prior misconduct. The misconduct involved the theft of church money at St. Mary of the Angels Church in Ukiah, and allegations he had sexually molested young Latinos men belonging to the parish……According to Monday's announcement, Hume is to resign his ministry in the Santa Rosa diocese, but 'he remains a priest.'……

            " 'This is outrageous,' said Sister Jane Kelly, the Ukiah nun who made Hume's theft of church funds public after church leaders ignored her protests following his reassignment in 1998 by Ziemann to a Napa church. 'The church is doing what it's always done: paying to settle claims involving priest misconduct, and then letting the wrongdoers move on,' said Kelly.

            "Wendy Gallagher, a Santa Rosa woman whose son was sexually molested by a priest, agreed. 'I think allowing this person to remain a priest is very sad……

What ever happened to Bishop Ziemann, you ask?

            "Ziemann retains his title as a church bishop, but he, too, is unable to minister as a priest because of a church-imposed ban. Ziemann is staying at a monastery somewhere in the Southwest, said his attorney, Joseph Piasta of Santa Rosa. 'He is living a life of prayer and repentance,' said Piasta…….. Ziemann two weeks ago admitted in a public letter read during weekend masses to the diocese's 140,000 Catholics that he had 'sinned grieviously.' Ziemann asked for forgiveness for the pain he has caused. After a year of therapy, Ziemann has chosen to live temporarily at a monastery that Piasta declined to identify. 'He looks forward to serving God and the people in this new ministry.' Said Piasta."

Refusal to defrock Hume attacked [7]

            "…….'I'm absolutely shocked. This man shouldn't be allowed to remain a priest,' said Marianne Peterson of Crescent City. Ukiah Catholic Monte Hill said, 'There's no other institution that tolerates the kind of deception that surrounds Mr. Hume'………..'This guy fraudulently became a priest. He steals money and engages in sex with a bishop, and yet he remains a priest. What does it take to get rid of people like this?' asked Claudia Lima, a Eureka parishioner."

ANOTHER TRAVESTY IN SANTA ROSA EXPOSED: The Case of 'Father' Don Kimball

Betrayal of Trust [8]

Four file lawsuit accusing their former parish priest of sexually abusing them

            "……..In February and April of this year, after more than two decades of silence, Mary [Agbayani, not a plaintiff in this suit,] swore before attorneys at a lengthy deposition in Santa Rosa, that in the small chapel at the south end of Resurrection church, after Saturday evening mass in August of 1977 when everyone else had left the building, the popular priest and friend she idolized - Father Don Kimball - forced her to have sex with him on the floor behind the altar. She was 14 years old." [The author of this article then relates Kimball allegedly victimized a brother and sister, who were also part of this lawsuit.] "……In a two-part deposition taken in Fresno during January of this year and May of 1998, Bishop John Steinbock swore that in 1987 Kimball confessed to molesting a number of teenage girls…..

"At this date [Kimball] reportedly continues to enjoy popularity as an invited speaker at youth conferences and rallies all over the country…….Kimball now denies all charges of sexually molesting anyone, ever.

"Mary swore in her deposition that she was molested by Kimball over a period of months. 'I ended up pregnant, got forced to have an abortion and then I was rejected,' Mary told attorneys. 'I became isolated from all my friends and family - and I was still just a child.' Kimball took her to an abortion clinic in San Francisco, Mary explained to me. She said she tried twice back then to tell someone about Kimball molesting her - once she told a friend at church who couldn't believe Kimball could do wrong, and once she told the pastor of Resurrection, the late Monsignor Charles ('Charlie') Jackson.

"Monsignor Jackson didn't do anything about it, according to Mary. 'Charlie said something like, who's going to believe your word over the word of a priest who's done so much for the youth of our community?………

"My [the author of Betrayal of Trust is speaking] 38-year-old sister, Marie Martinsson, who now lives with her husband in Sweden, remembers how young people felt toward Kimball. 'All the kids in the group liked him a lot - he was so easy to talk to, and so cool,' she recalls. In a written declaration submitted to the plaintiffs' attorneys, Marie tells how Kimball molested her at the priest's residence when she was 16, during the appointment she had made with him to discuss a personal problem……

"In the course of my research I've learned that victims of molestation feel intense shame and guilt, which makes them reluctant to share their stories. Children who are sexually molested typically feel responsible for their victimization and often do not tell about what happened until adulthood. It's such a painful, embarrassing and shameful thing, they withdraw from it, wanting it to be over.

"My close friend Lorraine didn't tell me her story until just before she decided to file civil charges, two years ago. Lorraine claims that she, too, was molested by Kimball during an appointment she made with him for counseling…..Lorraine claims Kimball continued to molest her for years……

"Kimball wouldn't talk to me when I called for an interview, but referred me to his attorney, Joe Piasta, who says that Kimball denies all charges…..

"Lawsuits have certainly harmed church finances. Of the $5.3 million paid out to settle diocesan sexual misconduct charges since 1995, a total of $2.1 million was covered by insurance money, according to Brenkle. The rest was paid from diocese funds……."

Quotable Quote

            "I, as, Joe Priest, with no legal background, don't understand why the church has to pay for this lawsuit. I know some of these people [the alleged victims] well enough to know they aren't the kind to lie. There's been a lot of pain in their families, somehow connected to Don Kimball - all that pain didn't come out of a cloud." ('Father' Larry Carolan, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Calistoga.)

Former priest charged in rapes [9]

Santa Rosa man faces prison term of up to 15 years

            "A former Catholic priest has been [criminally] charged with rape and committing lewd acts against minors in connection with the alleged abuse of two teen-age girls in the late 1970s and early 80s. Don Kimball, a well-known youth ministry leader, was charged in a four-count complaint……..If convicted on all counts, Kimball, 56, could be sentenced to 15 years in state prison. He would become the second Santa Rosa priest to be imprisoned for misconduct with children.

            "Former [Roman Catholic] Rev. Gary Timmons was convicted of sexual misconduct with boys in Santa Rosa and Humboldt counties from 1969 to 1992…..The complaint against Kimball alleges rape and lewd conduct involving two victims who are identified: Mary Agbayani, 36, who Kimball allegedly molested and raped in 1977, and Ellen Brem, now 32, who Kimball is accused of molesting in 1981….The complaint also alleges Kimball abused nine additional victims and identifies seven women and two men by first name only……..

            "A separate civil lawsuit filed by four of Kimball's alleged victims has been tentatively settled for $1.6 million, according to the plaintiff's attorney, Mary Clare Lawrence.

Kimball denies sex charges [10]

Priest released after SR arraignment

            "……..The criminal charges against Kimball stem from a civil lawsuit filed in 1997 against him and the Diocese of Santa Rosa by two men and two women who claim they were molested by him in the 1970s, when they were juveniles…...              "Asked why nearly a dozen people would fabricate such charges against him, Kimball said, 'For money. That's where this all started'…..Kimball denied Wednesday he ever sexually touched a minor or did anything illegal. Kimball said he became good at working with young people. 'You have to go out of your way, have to work hours that you would never work, to keep up with people that you're trying to keep contact with,' he said. 'Then later on, a lawyer comes back saying you're stalking this kid, when you're just trying to do outreach or follow up on someone who didn't fit in the system or youth groups,' he said. 'When you spend time with them on their own, to figure out how they're ticking and what's going on, later on this comes back to turn into something like this,' Kimball said."

Judge reverses Kimball ruling [11]
Priest molest charges ok'd

"A Sonoma County judge reinstated two child molesting charges Thursday against Catholic priest Don Kimball, reversing a ruling that they were too old to pursue. Judge Robert Boyd's decision brought gasps and cries of approval from the alleged victims, including one woman who says Kimball raped her in 1977."

Church seeks amends over clergy abuse [12]

Veils of Catholic secrecy lifted to assist victims of priests

            "……Saturday's 1 1/2 hour 'Reconciliation and Healing Service,' organized by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and the Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests [was] attended by 100 Catholic leaders, sexual abuse victims and their families. [It] was an opportunity for the church to publicly apologize for its past silence on clergy abuse and take the first step toward a more open dialogue, organizers said…….

            "The attempt at atonement followed Pope John Paul II's public confession at the Vatican earlier this month for the church's sins throughout history."

Quotable Quotes

            "When I pass a church, I cross the street." (Sonia Rubino)

            "Just seeing a priest's black garb is difficult." (unidentified victim)

            "I can't shake a priest's hand." (unidentified victim)

________________________________________________